the topic of how cost-effectiveness information informs priority setting in healthcare remains important to both policy and practice. this commentary considers the study carried out by eckard and colleagues in sweden. in it we distinguish between the conditions at national and local levels and put forward some recommendations for research into local priority setting in particular.

BACKGROUND Swedish health care authorities use three key criteria to produce national guidelines for local priority setting: severity of the health condition, expected patient benefit, and cost-effectiveness of medical intervention. Priority setting in primary health care (PHC) has significant implications for health costs and outcomes in the health care system. Nevertheless, these guidelines h...

BACKGROUND In recent years, decision makers in Canada and elsewhere have expressed a desire for more explicit, evidence-based approaches to priority setting. To achieve this aim within health care organizations, knowledge of both the organizational context and stakeholder attitudes towards priority setting are required. The current work adds to a limited yet growing body of international litera...